The Wilson County Commission will be filling the vacant County Commission seat for District 18 at their meeting on Jan. 27. Former Commissioner Adam Bannach resigned his seat in December of 2013, due to the purchase of a new home, which is out of the district. The individual selected will serve for the un-expired term, which runs through August 31, 2014.

Any time a vacancy occurs in an elected official’s position the County Commission is responsible for filling the vacancy. The process is outlined in state law. “We would like to make the public, and especially individuals interested in seeking the position, aware of how the process works,” Wilson County Mayor Randall Hutto stated.Any individual interested in the position must meet the qualifications outlined for holding public office in state law. They must be 18 years old or older, a resident and qualified voter of District 18, and not have been convicted of a felony. The district lines used in the 2010 elections will be used in determining eligibility for this vacancy per state law. For more details on qualifications, individuals should check with the Wilson County Election Commission at 615-444-0216. The individual selected to fill the vacancy must receive the majority of a vote from the Wilson County Commission. Anyone interested should contact the current County Commissioners to let them know of their desire and solicit support, since they will be electing the individual to fill the vacancy.Names may be submitted in writing to the Wilson County Mayor in advance of the Commission meeting, but is not a requirement. Before the County Commission considers this issue, voters of District 18 will be allowed to recommend individuals to be considered for the position. Once all recommendations from the public have been made, the Commission will then begin the nomination and selection process. A County Commissioner must nominate an individual on the floor, after the time for public input has ended, for that person to be considered. The public is not allowed to nominate only recommend candidates. A County Commissioner may also nominate an individual who did not receive a recommendation from the public. Seconds are not required for nominations.Once nominations by the County Commission are complete, the individuals nominated will be given approximately three to five minutes to briefly address the Commission to share information about themselves and their desire for the position. Handouts may be passed out prior to the Commission meeting.Voting will take place on paper ballots. Commissioners will be provided with blank ballots and must sign the ballot for their vote to be considered. Votes will be read aloud once all ballots have been collected. If one person receives the majority vote, which must be at least 13 votes, at that time voting is complete. If no one receives 13 votes, the candidate with the lowest vote total shall have their name, or names should there be a tie, removed. Balloting will continue using the same process with the revised list of candidates being considered. This process will continue until an individual is selected.